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After years of waiting, Superior Town Center under way at McCaslin and U.S. 36

Grading at 157-acre site will go on until spring

By John Aguilar, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
01/14/2014 09:56:59 PM MST

Updated:
01/15/2014 09:28:25 AM MST

Earthmovers are seen preparing the future site of Superior Town Center at the corner of McCaslin Boulevard and U.S. 36 last week. (Cliff Grassmick / Daily Camera)

SUPERIOR — — There was public meeting after public meeting to discuss various aspects of Superior Town Center, more meetings to get the town's blessing for the 157-acre mixed-use project, yet more meetings to finalize a financing scheme and then meetings yet again to get approval for the first building on site.

Now after nine months of back and forth between the town and the developer, a prominent parcel at the intersection of U.S. 36 and McCaslin Boulevard that has been positioned for development for nearly two decades is finally crawling with earthmovers.

Randy Goodson, director of real estate for Superior Town Center developer Ranch Capital LLC, said grading at the site will go on for the next four months or so before sidewalks and streets begin to appear.

He said the process to get to this point was rigorous and exhaustive — with plenty of long nights and outspoken opponents decrying it — but well worth it.

"It's great," Goodson said. "We all have to spend time on the details, but it's great to see construction activity."

The work, which began last month, is the start of what could be years of construction activity on the sweeping expanse of prairie hemmed in by U.S. 36, McCaslin Boulevard and the northernmost homes of Rock Creek. Bisected by Coal Creek, the parcel represents Superior's last significant piece of developable real estate.

"I feel excited and proud," Superior Mayor Andrew Muckle said of the $700 million project. "It's been a long time coming and to see something on the site we can be proud of years into the future is exciting."

Much to come

Ranch Capital plans to build up to 1,400 homes — each smaller and with a more urban sensibility than the average house in Superior — along with a main street, a 1.2-acre town square with restaurants and boutique shops, a hotel and up to half a million square feet of commercial space.

On Dec. 20, the Board of Trustees approved a sports and medical complex, dubbed Boulder Valley Ice and Indoor Sports at Superior, for Superior Town Center.

The 160,000-square-foot sports complex, with an attached 60,000-square-foot medical building, will be one of the larger structures in this town of 13,000. It is expected to draw up to 1.6 million people a year and serve as a regional draw for hockey and soccer teams.

The developer of the complex, which will be open for nearly 21 hours a day 360 days a year, hopes to start construction on the building as early as late January and have one out of the planned 2½ sheets of ice open by September.

While the entire town center will take years — if not decades — to build out entirely, Goodson said progress on the initial northern 30 acres of the site will be noticeable in 2014.

Aside from the sports and medical building, Goodson said his team is in negotiations with several tenants, including a veterinary hospital and a large tech company. He also hopes to have the first model homes built and occupied by the end of the year.

Complementing developments

Superior Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Heather Cracraft said Superior Town Center is going to be a "marquee development" for the entire U.S. 36 corridor.

"What we can do to add vibrancy to the community without taking away from our current businesses is a positive thing," she said.

Cracraft said she's confident that the future shops and restaurants in Superior Town Center won't cannibalize business from nearby Superior Marketplace because the size and type of stores between each location will differ.

Superior Marketplace long has been besieged by numerous vacant storefronts, especially in its interior buildings that are off the main thoroughfares and at a distance from large anchor stores. Ross Dress for Less is the latest casualty there, with a sign on its front door informing customers its last day of business will be Sunday.

Muckle said Superior Town Center is offering something entirely different than Superior Marketplace and the two shopping centers should complement, rather than compete with, one another.

"If we were going to be building another big box retailer, a grocery store or a discount clothing shop at the town center, that would be one thing," he said.

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